"The Crib is Gone"

The crib is gone. This is the phrase which Nicole had tasked me with for this past week. Initial interpretations were relatively literal. But to make this one work, I realized that I'd have to stretch that languid mind of mine, contort an image to fit with a meaning. And I am pleased at the result.

Though not technically a new picture, the implicit meaning behind it is. Amazing how an old image can stir your interest after having a change of heart, circumstance, or disposition. The image is a small grouping of silos I drove by in almost blizzard-like conditions while on my way back home from school. I hadn't put much stock in this simple series. I had snapped it with the window open, snow hitting my lens and eyes, compounding my already-dangerous habit of taking pictures while behind the wheel. But now, much later I realized something.

That was my last trip home from college. That was my last farewell drive on that road which had taken me to and from the Bubble. College was a place of rapid development, understanding and a place to get a handle on one's future. College remained a safe harbor for diverse thought and practice. Students' behaviour was explained away by statements like, "the old college try," "you only live once," "the best time in our lives," even "it's our last hurrah!"

The University Experience is an adult crib. It coddles thought and excuses otherwise ridiculous behaviour with simple phrases. Just as a kid may jam a Transformer in his nose, may a college kid miss a final. Neither behaviour is advisable, but there is empathy for both. Allowed to stumble and falter, but never truly allowed to fall out.

Unfortunately, the crib is gone.